[East Oakland] The Temple Club- Central Vietnamese food that wows.

We went last night again.

Everything was great. Standouts were:

Butterflied shrimp with a coating of immature green rice- a relevatory take on fried shrimp with spicy chili sauce. The coating was both crunchy and chewy at the same time. The shrimp were very fresh. The chili sauce was not overly sweet. This was a dish that added up to more than the sum of its parts. The unique crunchy/chewy texture of the coating, fresh shrimp flavor and spicy chili sauce came together in a delicious way that

Water Spinach. I think the price was ~$5.50. One of the best things I have eaten all year. I’ve enjoyed water spinach on trips to Asia but rarely find good versions on the US- usually the texture is too tough. This version was perfectly executed- the water spinach was tender. Garlic, fried shallot and wok char flavors combined with the smoky flavor of the water spinach to create a spectacular dish.

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